1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to traveler's luggage cases and more particularly to a vertically expandable luggage case which is equipped with wheels to facilitate movement of the case along a floor, walkway or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
The task of carrying and/or lifting luggage at airports, railway stations, hotels or other sites is generally disliked by travelers. While rental luggage carts are available at certain sites, the renting process is itself an inconvenience and such carts do not remain with the traveler after the baggage is checked in.
As a result, the use of wheeled luggage cases has significantly expanded to the point where wheeled luggage case are now the norm in the art of luggage making. Even relatively small luggage cases designed to fit in overhead compartments or under the seats on aircraft are commonly adapted with wheels to facilitate transporting a loaded case. Currently, the most popular type of wheeled luggage is the upright case, which is pushed or towed with the longest or major dimension nearer to vertical than horizontal. Typically, upright cases are equipped with a telescopically extendable and retractable wheel handle at the top end of the body of the case and a pair of wheels at the bottom edge of the back of the body. At rest, the case may sit in an upright position upon the wheels and a pair of legs or glides. To roll the case, the user grips the wheel handle and tips the case to lift the glides from the supporting surface and manually pulls the case while walking.
A significant disadvantage associated with luggage carriers is that the main packing compartment is small and difficult to pack in a way that the packed clothing and other items are easily accessible when the case is opened up, for example, in the upright position when it's standing on the pair of wheels. As a result of this shortcoming, the prior art reveals attempts to improve upon internal organization by providing shelves that divide the interior of the case. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,739, issued to Bentzen, discloses a non-wheeled upright backpack having an internal compartment that is divided into subcompartments by shelves that are removable. U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,476, discloses a rack system for a backback. Such attempts to integrate shelves into luggage and backpacks have not resulted in widespread success, and fail to address the inherent space limitation due to the relatively small size of the compartment provided by the luggage.
Accordingly, there exists a need for wheeled luggage having an expandable storage compartment and internal shelving to provide organized storage for travelers.